British Basketball League's strategy to ‘revolutionise’ the UK game

Sports fans’ habits are changing, and so are we. 

Here at the British Basketball League, we know the potential of professional basketball within the UK – it’s already evident at a grassroots level. According to Basketball England, basketball is the second most participated team sport among young people, which presents us with an incredible opportunity to grow the game not only from a playing standpoint but from a fan engagement standpoint.

In mid-August, we rolled out a full rebrand of the league. This marked the start of our strategy to revolutionise basketball in the UK. We want to deliver the most entertaining sport for fans, both home and abroad.

Our mission within the league is to grow our fandom and to put basketball where it belongs, next to the rest of the country’s most-followed sports (which are all British-born and bred).

The rebrand isn’t just a modern, fresh take on our core identity, but a declaration of our ambitions to grow; not just as a professional basketball league, but an ambitious content and entertainment organisation that brings excitement and enjoyment to our fans and partners, and positively impacts our communities.

And we are dedicated to bringing entertainment to audiences. Basketball fans have some of the highest expectations of any sports fan, and we are going to exceed their expectations with the content we’re putting out for each and every game this season across every touchpoint, meeting the fans wherever they are. From how the games look in the arena, to how they’re delivered at home or on the go will be like nothing ever seen before in British basketball.

While the rebrand touches every single aspect of the League, it is part of a wider strategy where we will be enhancing every single aspect of our offering to fans and partners. The level of talent within the clubs is rapidly improving with a record-breaking 2022/23 season, which led to an unprecedented four men’s and two women’s teams participating in European competitions in the upcoming campaign.  

The added investment at the league and club level is benefiting in a number of areas; The level of player and coaching talent, and the further creation of dedicated stadiums for three clubs: the Bristol Flyers, Caledonia Gladiators, and Sheffield Sharks; all of whom will be moving into their new purpose-built facilities within the next couple seasons, with the Gladiators and Sharks set to move into their new homes very soon.

As part of the rebrand, we created a new logo, which is now the symbol of both the men’s and women’s leagues. In addition, we crafted a series of new competition identities, our league anthem, broadcast graphics, commercial documents, graphic language, a campaign video, and most importantly, our new “Unbeatable” mindset.

The logo and the new “Unbeatable” proposition were designed in collaboration with London-based creative agency Designwerk and strategic partner Deltatre to deliver not just the visual character of the new brand, but a complete identity from the brand personality, driven through audience insights to the sonic branding.

We want to emotionally engage our audience across as many of the senses as possible. “Unbeatable” is not just a slogan for the League; it’s a belief that we as an organisation are unbeatable in every aspect, from fan engagement to commercial appeal, and our sport in the UK and beyond.

Our strategic vision, which includes the rebrand, will project the British Basketball League on a trajectory of growth.

Joe Edwards is head of marketing at the British Basketball League.